Over the River and Through the Woods (Adventures!AU Book 2)

Ch. 63 Reflections

ONLY ONE MORE LEFT! I'm testing out a new format where pov breaks are just shown by double line spaces rather than my usual symbols, let me know what you think! Onto the story itself! Since we've seen my pov on the thing, this chapter covered all four batcher's povs. They're shorter, but packed with info. Hope you enjoy! Next week is the big finale!

Also, fun fact, Rakata Prime is an actual Star Wars planet!

CW: War-typical angst, vomit, war-typical violence mention

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He should have been quicker.

He should have stopped them.

Took the gun.

Grabbed their wrist.

Something.

But he didn't.

And Hunter hated himself for it.

Sure, Shadow had killed organics, but there was a big difference between an animal and a sentient. He saw the way they froze. Saw the horror stricken look in their eyes as they caught sight of his facial tattoo.

Shadow was traumatized by the experience, and it was all his fault.

Suddenly Shadow stopped, a hand going to their mouth. Color rapidly drained from their face, which held a look that Hunter knew all too well. His fears came to life pretty quickly as Shadow stumbled away from Wrecker and proceeded to empty their stomach beside some thick ferns.

Kark!

The squad halted, no one moving aside from Wrecker who cautiously stepped towards them and reached out. "Squeaky?"

Shadow just stared at the mess. "Well. That's not ideal," they grumbled, ears back.

At least they hadn't lost their sarcasm. A pretty lousy positive to focus on, the sergeant knew, but it was better than nothing at all.

Damn it, why hadn't he stopped them!?

Another question, equally as distressing, plagued him now. Had he really made the right decision asking Shadow to join the squad? They were an excellent fighter, both skilled and smart, but that didn't exactly mean they'd be a great soldier. Being a soldier took... a certain kind of mentality. Not everyone could do it. What if Shadow just wasn't cut out for a life that required you to kill day in and day out?

But leaving them behind was absolutely out of the question; Hunter knew that for a fact. It'd tear him apart and leave an unfillable hole in his chest, to say nothing of how it'd affect the rest of the batch. Wrecker would be utterly devastated, Tech would deeply mourn the loss of his science buddy, and Crosshair... the sniper would never recover.

Shadow joining the team was the only option, without question. They'd would all just have to take the good with the bad. The very bad.

Perhaps he could at least soften the blow from their first kill? Shadow trusted him, very much so, and he'd gotten enough practice over the days to know how their mind worked. At least somewhat. They were still very unpredictable and their reaction in a given situation could range from chill to unrelenting fury to indifference to horror. But his methods had helped them recover from trauma before, so it was worth a shot.

He stepped forward. "Fellas, go get the ship ready."

Tech nodded and jogged ahead though the trees with his flashlight out, but Crosshair and Wrecker lingered.

"Not leavin'," Wrecker growled, harsh tone sharply contrasting with his gentleness as he tugged Shadow away from the mess in the ferns.

Crosshair nodded in agreement with the demolition expert, attaching himself to Shadow's other side. His helmet, the Night Hunter curled inside, hung from his belt and allowed the sniper to rest his cheek against Shadow's hair. Shadow's ear was squished, but the Realm Walker didn't seem to notice.